Fighter or Courtesan?
by The Lion in Disguise
Summary: Sofia was a fighter trying to survive in the alleyways of Dunwall, fighting in the rings at night and trying not to get arrested at day. She lost one too many fights though and with the defeat by the hands of her rival; Leon, Sofia was kicked out onto the cold streets. Now she works as a courtesan in the Golden Cat, but can she calm her fighting instinct for a Pendleton?
1. Kicked Out

**I was listening to a few songs before this story started forming in my head. It was Three Days Grace – Burn that was the tip of the ice-berg and I just really wanted to write this now, and hopefully you guys enjoy it.**

**I don't own Dishonored, but I do own my Ocs.**

The alleyways were dark during the night-times, they always were. Stars long hidden by the roll of black clouds, the moon barely shining through the thick mist. The light barely lit the alleyways, the trash cans on their sides and the contents scattered along the cobble floor, black rats scavenging for potential food. A woman watched them with a worried gaze before taking a puff of her cigar, the smoke curled around her nostrils and disappeared into the night. Her blue eyes gazed at the sky as yells came from within one of the boarded up building.

"Seems like Leon won," She sighed, taking another puff. "Won't be long until-"

"Sophie, you're up!" A brute of a man yelled, his eyebrows knitted together in a permanent angered expression. He stood by the battered doorframe, watching as Sophie stubbed the cigar against the graphitized wall. She stood up from the box she was sitting on and moved towards the man, never meeting his gaze.

"It's Sofia," She hissed, looking up slightly from underneath her hood. "No Sophie."

"Whatever I don't pay you to sit out here all night." The man spat, pushing Sofia into the dark building before closing the door. It was pitch-black, the smell of rot and damp filled her nostrils and made her gag silently, her hand slightly forward to feel her way through the maze of broken floorboards and demolished stair-cases. The yells were getting louder the further they plunged into the darkness, Sofia's heartbeat banging against her ears as she swallowed. Opening the door, she was blinded by the sudden light and knocked back by the pungent smell of alcohol and decomposing bodies. This was a fighting ring, and the losers were hardly disposed of.

"You better win this time, I only accept your defeats so many time." The man hissed in her ear, spit landing on the rim and made her cringe in disgust. She turned her head slightly as both of them walked through the groups of drunken men and half-drunken whores.

"Don't worry George, I've been training since last time." She insisted. When she turned her head though, sheer dread fell on her like a ton of bricks. Sitting there was her rival; Leon. He was sitting on the other side of the fighting ring with a dirty towel in his hand, wiping the sweat of his muscled shoulder. His white shirt was ripped at the sleeves and his black pants were ripped along the kneecap, his hand clenched together and wrapped in bandages to protect them.

"I thought Leon fought the last fight." Sofia gasped, moving slightly backwards to get away from the dangerous fighter. George wasn't having it however and pushed her forward again, watching as she fell into the ring.

"He did, but after hearing you were next he personally asked me for permission to fight you. Offered me coin,"

"You set me up!" She snapped, jumping to her feet and glaring her trainer. Scoffing to himself, George crossed his arms and nodded at Leon.

"It's business Sophie, now fight!" He growled, disappearing into the waves of men as they began to circle the two. Groaning to herself, she turned to see Leon standing up and tossed the towel out of the ring. She unclipped her cloak and tossed it into the crowd as well, wringing her bandaged wrists nervously.

"You ready Sophie?" Leon asked, raising his fists as he nodded to the announcer. Sofia did the same thing and scowled at her rival, bouncing back and forth on her toes.

"It's Sofia, and I'm ready." As those words left her mouth, Leon struck out like a cobra. His packed fist jabbed at her face and his other hand struck at her cheek, cutting it. She snapped her head and retaliated with a round-house kick to Leon's torso, kicking him again in the chest as he stumbled. Falling backwards, he pushed himself up and began a series of punches upon his foe. Sofia tried her best to block them, but a stray punch connected with her chin and sent her sprawling to the floor. Her forehead connected with the decaying planks and white consumed her vision, a throbbing pain writhing behind her eyes as she forced herself up. That was when she spotted George in the midst of raving alcoholics, his face scrunched up in rage.

"Get the fuck back in there and win!" He snarled. Nodding timidly, Sofia turned around to face Leon and saw a fist connect with her lip, splitting it open and spilt her blood across the floor. Clutching her face in sheer agony, she didn't see the swipe to her legs as she tumbled to the floor once more. She felt her breath being knocked out as she wheezed and gasped, turning on her side and laid there. She ignored the screams of the men telling her to get up, of _George _roaring at her to get up. What she couldn't ignore however, was Leon's silk-like voice.

"Better luck next time Sophie." He grunted, turning his back to her and walked off. She felt rage gnaw at her insides as she willed herself to stand up, her legs shaking with her weight.

"My name is fucking Sofia!" She snapped, rushing towards Leon with her fist raised. Seeing the attack though, he dodged it and kicked her in the side with the heel of his foot. Collapsing to the floor, Sofia remained there. Her entire body throbbed in pain and begged her to stop trying to push it, blood from her split-lip and gash in her cheek dripped down. Disappointed groans and ecstatic cheers came from the crowds as George pushed his way through them , his face alone made Sofia fear her fate.

"Get this piece of shit out of here." He ordered his men, lighting a cigar angrily. Rough hands grabbed her shoulders tightly, her body being lifted off the unforgiving floor as she was dragged outside. The cold air caused goose-bumps to form on her damaged skin, the squeak of rats made her blood run cold. The men decided not to stay out any longer and threw the failure to the ground, walking back in as George came out.

"It's over kid, you had a great run. Now however, I think it's best if you fuck off back to Serkonos." He growled with the cigar in between his lips. Pushing herself up, Sofia turned around and took a deep breath, tears pricking at her eyes.

"You don't understand," She snapped, stumbling forward slightly. "I can't go home, I can't go anywhere, I have nothing if you kick me out!"

"It's business." George scoffed, flicking his cigar away and turned to the door.

"Business," Sofia snorted, leaning against the wall for support. "I feel sorry for the next sap who you manipulate."

George stopped for a brief second and for that second, Sofia actually hoped that he would take her back. Instead however, he turned around and in a fit of blind rage, slapped her across the face hard. She screamed and her legs gave in, her knees scrapping against the hard ground as she sat there, staring up at her former manager.

"Get out of here kid, before I sent the wolfhounds on ya." He warned, before slamming the door behind him. Left alone in the dark and the cold, Sofia wiped her lips with the back of her hand and winced as she willed herself to stand again. The squeaks of the rats had diminished, but they were replaced by the blood-chilling howls of the wolfhounds. A shudder came down her spine as she limped further into the alleyways, the yells of the Overseers accompanying the howls. She looked up at the wall and noticed the street sign, frowning as she read it.

"This is near the Golden Cat," She sighed, looking down the dark street in the direction of the pleasure house. She didn't want to go there, she knew what the courtesans were put though, she knew it all too well. There was no other way though, without the fight club and her former manager meeting her needs she would have to look after herself again. She shakily walked down the street, hiding in the shadows as the City Watch officers walked past her. It was past the curfew and if she was spotted, bad things would surely follow.

"H-help…" She whispered, feeling like the shadows covering her slim figure were erasing her existence. She shook her head and carried on, finally reaching the beautiful gardens of the Golden Cat. She paused however, scared to move another step. That was when she heard someone behind her, and quickly turned with her fist scrunched. It was a courtesan and by the look on her face, she wasn't surprised by the state of Sofia's face.

"Do you need help?" She asked, moving closer to the injured girl. Moving away slightly, Sofia looked at the floor and slowly nodded, feeling ashamed of her grovelling to a brothel of all places. Smiling at her, the courtesan grabbed Sofia's shoulder and led her inside. The inside of the building was beautiful, she thought, staring up at the chandelier in awe. The courtesan however, seemed more nervous then she was outside. Pushing the younger towards Madame Prudence's office, they cringed at the sound of the old woman's voice snapping at someone.

"I-I'm sorry Madame, Lisa didn't tell anyone until it was too late-"

"The bitch! Veronica, take that whore's body and dump it into the river!" Madame spat, the door quickly opening as soon as she spoke. Sofia jumped to the side as another courtesan dragged a body out, the corpse's face looked peaceful and… happy. Gulping to herself, she took a step into the room and gagged as the over-powering scent of cheap perfume invaded her nostrils. An old woman turned on her heel as soon as she heard someone step in, and glared Sofia down. She was pale and wrinkled, with way too much makeup slapped on her face. She wore white baggy shirt with a brown jacket over it, purple pants hanging loosely down her legs.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, looking up and down Sofia's body. The courtesan accompanying her moved forward and gestured to the Serkonian.

"This woman needs a job Madame, could she possibly replace Lisa?" She asked, smirking slightly at Sofia's shocked expression. Taking control of her emotions, Sofia nodded slowly and kept her gaze to the floor. Prudence took a long drag of her cigarette-stick and blew it out in Sofia's face, watching instinctively as she held in the urge to cough.

"You don't look the potential to be a courtesan." She grunted, sneering at the younger girl.

"I didn't know being a whore required qualifications, I would have-" She was interrupted with an elbow jab by her helper. Prudence scowled at her and then circled the girl, studying her looks and physic.

"You are scarred quite a bit, your arms are muscled from what looks like physical exertion and you stink of sweat. You must be from the fighting rings." She concluded, taking another puff from her stick. Sofia looked up at the Madame with shock in her eyes, before nodding slowly.

"How did you kn-"

"Please child, I am the one supplying the whores to the men in those rings. Barbarians is all I say, the coin is still good though." Prudence interrupted again, moving towards her desk and started counting the coins on it, no doubted earned from the courtesans today. She didn't spare another look at the two as she waved her hand, speaking as she did so.

"Go on and get changed, you start tomorrow." She ordered. Sofia felt sadness hit her hard in the gut as she nodded, walking away as she followed the courtesan along the rooms. She was grateful for the job, but she did not want to be a courtesan. She was a fighter, not a whore. The staircase to the rooms were rotting and destroyed, a few steps were completely gone as they walked up. Sofia frowned as she heard the quiet sobs of the courtesans, her stomach twisting and turning as the courtesan opened the door to her room.

"You'll be sharing with me, as there aren't that many rooms anymore." She sighed, entering the room and sat on one of the dusty bed. Sofia followed her and sat on the other bed, dried blood caked onto the blanket made her gasped in fear.

"That bed was Lisa's… she was a troubled girl who came all the way from Serkonos. She felt so afraid and alone and so cut herself to try and ease the emotional pain, but… it all got too much." The courtesan explained, sadly looking at the wall as she took a deep breath. "My name's Hannah by the way."

"Sofia." She replied, removing her hand from the blood stain. "I am also from Serkonos."

"I know, you're too tanned to be form here and your accent sort of gave it away." Hannah smiled, before lying down in her bed. "I'm tired now, good night."

"Night…" Sofia whispered, watching as Hannah blew out the candle. As she sat in the dark, she heard howls from the wolfhounds in the streets below. She pulled her knees to her chest and began to sob quietly, Lisa's story terrified her. She was worried that she could become like that in the future.

No one heard the nineteen year-old girl cry herself to sleep that night.

**So what do you think of the first chapter? Tell me if you liked it or if there was something that I would need to improve, thank you!**

**See you next chapter and don't forget to review!**


	2. Twins

**Don't own Dishonored, but I do own Sofia.**

_A small girl trudged through the empty alleyways of Serkonos, her arms laid uselessly by her side. Her blue eyes were blurred with tears as she sniffed loudly, wiping her nose with the back of her bloodied hand, fresh blood smearing across her face. In her other hand was a small pouch of money, the golden coins jingling in the leather pouch. Her beige tunic hung loosely over her thin frame as some were torn in various places, bandages showing from underneath the tear across her chest area. She paused outside a old building that was rotting and sniffed again, pushing the decayed door open and walked inside._

"_Mama?" She called out, coughing as damp entered her lungs. "I-I got into a fight, but I won and l-look what I-I got!"_

"_Sofia?" A soft voice called out, slight fear traced it. Sofia followed the sound of her mother's voice and entered what looked like the living room, shocked as she spotted her mother on the couch… with another man._

"_M-mama?" She gasped, dropping the bag in her hand. The sound of rolling coins was the only sound, drowning out as the coins fell on their sides. Sofia's mother turned away from her daughter in shame, her cheeks burning a bright red. The man snarled at the girl and removed the elder woman from his chest, standing up threateningly. Sofia stepped away instinctively, her bandaged fists clenched together ready for action._

"_Get out of here, you little shit!" He spat, aiming a punch when Sofia's mother jumped up from the couch. _

"_Don't touch my Sofia!" She hissed, standing between the man and Sofia. Hearing a baby crying from upstairs, she made a move to comfort her baby brother when the man tackled her mother. _

"_Mama!" She yelled, frozen to her spot torn between helping her mother and rushing to her brother's aid. Her mother shot her a look and smiled, before she saw the glitter of a pistol. The bang was loud and blood splattered across the floor-boards, a scream rang from Sofia's throat as she watched her mother fell limp. The man looked up at her and smiled, showing off way too many teeth. Taking her chance, Sofia ran out of the room and up the stairs, a bang ran off as a bullet hole appeared behind her. She burst through her brother's room and spotted the baby standing in his crib._

"_No, no, no, no…" She whispered, rushing towards him and tried to pick him up. He was too heavy and she was exhausted from the fight previously and the run upstairs. Tears fell down her tanned face as she placed her forehead on her brother's, hearing the man slowly walk upstairs. _

"_Farewell…" She wept, placing a kiss on her brother's cheek before opening the window. He started crying as he watched Sofia jumped from it, her hitting the balcony below. She remained there for a while, out of the man's view as she heard him talking._

"_She's gone? The bitch…" He cursed, and suddenly a bang rang through the air. Her body twitched as something inside her withered and died, like a delicate rose in harsh weather. She sat there and began to sob quietly to herself remaining there for hours before leaving. She decided to get out of Serkonos, as she later found that the man who murdered her mother and baby brother was a very powerful person. She rested on a boat that was on the way to Dunwall when voices sounded in her ears, it sounding oddly familiar._

_Sofia… Sofia wake up… you'll be late Sofia, wake up!_

_-f-_

Sofia woke with a start and on instinct, her fist connected with Hannah's nose. A cry of pain came from her friend as the elder woman threw her head back, blood gushing from in between her slim fingers. Still disorientated from sleep, Sofia was slow to aid Hannah.

"Shit Hannah? I'm sorry I didn't know it was you… I guess I still thought I was in the fight club."

"It's not your fault." Hannah waved her hand dismissively, going over to a trunk next to her bed and took out some bandages. She set to work wrapping the clean wrappings around her nose and used several clips to hold it in place, checking the security before smiling to herself. She closed the trunk and turned back to Sofia, pointing at the clothes that were resting on the end of her bed.

"They are your work clothes from now on, Veronica will teach you how to stay alive and earn coin." She explained, wiping the soiled makeup from her face and grabbed her makeup bag. She turned to open the door and paused for a second, turning her head slightly to face Sofia.

"I will be in the bathroom downstairs, I will wait for you." With that said, Hannah disappeared and the door quickly closed after her. Sofia sat there in her sleep-depraved state before snapping out of it, slowly shuffling across her bed and grabbed the clothes. She removed her white top with ripped sleeves and tossed it across the room, replacing it with a black corset and lighter shade miniskirt.

She grabbed a long ribbon and wrapped it around her sort of muscular neck, tying it into a small bow at the back and released her short brown hair. She stood up and looked into the mirror with a frown, Madame Prudence was right; she did not possess the looks of a courtesan. Her arms and legs were muscular from her years of fighting, her face was wiped down but scarred from the injuries of last night, and her hands were still bandaged.

"Who am I kidding...?" She sighed to her reflection, sadly walking out of the room. She slowly walked down the hallway and ignored the hostile looks some of the courtesans as they took deep puffs of their cigarettes, making her mouth dry at the thought of not having one since last night. She walked down the dead stairs slowly, the sounds of men and women laughing made her stomach flip and twist. She spotted Hannah leaning against the banister at the bottom of the staircase.

"You look the part now…"

"I doubt it," Sofia replied bitterly, moving past her friend and into the bathroom. The other two watched her as they leaned against the wall; their faces looked newly made up. The one on the left waved her hand at Sofia and smiled, turning to Hannah as she entered as well.

"Is this the new girl?" She asked, gesturing to Sofia who was staring at her reflection in the broken mirror. Hannah moved her away and nodded, feeling Sofia trying to get away from her hand.

"My name is Sofia." She explained, meeting the woman's gaze for the first time. Lifting herself from the wall, the courtesan moved towards the two and grabbed Sofia's shoulder, removing her from Hannah's grip.

"I'm Veronica, and the girl over there is Beatrice." She introduced, waving at the other woman leaning against the wall. Sofia nodded in acknowledgement and earned a look of neutrality from Beatrice, who went back to smoking her cigarette. Pushing the youngest out of the room, Veronica walked into the beautifully set-up room with Sofia in hand, telling her the jobs she would do today.

"Madame Prudence wanted Beatrice to work somewhere else today, so she is giving you a big job." She explained, trying desperately to hide her fear for the poor girl as they walked to up to the third floor and to one of the rooms saved fro the clients. It was the Gold room, a room where a lot of courtesans didn't like being near. Sofia noticed that as they reached the door, taking in all the courtesans' sorry expressions as they entered the room.

It was red in colour, which was unusual given its name. The walls were patterned and littered with large windows, the light beaming through and lighting the whole room. A large double bed rested in the middle of the room, resting on a white carpet that stuck out on the red carpet that covered the rest of the room. Sitting on it, Sofia was shocked at how comfortable it was, and thought bitterly on how the courtesans' 'beds' were barely good enough to be called beds.

"Your client will be here shortly and Sofia?" A look from the Serkonian. "None of that sass that Madam told me, it will only put you in deep trouble"

Veronica then left the young woman alone, closing the door and walking off to meet with her usual clients. Sofia wrung her bandaged wrist nervously as she once again stood, walking over to one of the large windows and peered out. She watched the garden below as guards stood about, chatting with each other and the occasional courtesan. Sighing to herself, she clenched her right fist and walked over to one of the walls, delivering a quick jab to the wall. She looked at her fist again and smiled, feeling the stress from before slowly depleting.

"I still have a fighting instinct." She grinned, punching the wall again with her other hand. Bouncing back and forth, she could hear the screams of the crowd in her mind, almost picture them rushing forward to dap their cloths in the loser's blood. She was a fighter when she first arrived in Dunwall, one of the best back in Serkonos as she was expected to bring in the coins for her mother and brother.

"Enjoying yourself?" A masculine voice asked, causing Sofia to turn in shock. She stood there poised like a cobra that was about to strike, her fist clenched together and in the position to knock the man's teeth out. The man stood there was tall and muscular, his eyes dark and cold and his large forehead covered by a fringe of dark hair. He wore noble clothes and ad his arms crossed across his chest, staring amusingly at Sofia.

"I was, until you showed your ugly mug." She spat, straightening herself and sneered at the noble. "Get lost, I have a client coming shortly."

"Indeed you have," The man growled, shortening the distance between the him and Sofia and grabbed her neck. "Me."

"Shit, I-I'm sorry sir! I-I did n-not-"

"Save it. I'd rather not listen to your petty reasons." The man hissed, bringing his face close to Sofia's. Her scared expression was clear to him as she tried to free herself from his grip, but the man proved too strong for her. She closed her eyes wishing that this wasn't happening, but then she felt his grip leave her throat and instead the softness for the bed was felt on her back. She opened one eye and stared up at the man, seeing something long in his hand. It was a riding crop.

"Let's begin shall we?"

-f-

"What do you think you were doing?!" Madame Prudence snapped from her desk, her made-up face red with rage. Sofia stood there with a flustered look on her face, Hannah and Veronica standing on each of her sides. The man who was with Sofia, Custis Pendleton, was standing by Madame Prudence along with his brother, his hand over his nose and dripping with blood. Sofia glared over at him and pointed an accusing finger in his direction, her blue eyes narrowed in disgust.

"He used a _riding crop _on me, I am not a horse!" She snarled, ignoring the pleading looks from her two friends. "I have morals!"

"Hmph, I truly believe that." Morgan sneered from his brother's side. Turning over to him, Sofia took one step closer and glared the twins down.

"Do you wish to end up like your brother _prat?!_" She snapped, only able to tell the two apart because of Custis' broken nose. Glaring the mouthy woman evilly, Morgan was about to say something about her insult when Madame Prudence interrupted the mouth-off.

"Enough Sofia!" She snapped, rubbing her forehead with her long fingers. "I knew you didn't have the courtesan ability-"

"Well I'm sorry that I have limits!" Sofia interrupted, turning on her Madame. "I am not a courtesan-"

"But you are dear, and you are mine until you end up in the river like the rest." The old woman cut her off, leaning against her desk as she sneered at the Serkonian. "You are not a fighter anymore,"

"I wish you told me that." Custis spat, his voice nasally from his hand clamped around his nose. "Would have been very nice to know."

"Shut it Custis," Madame Prudence spat, digging her nails into the wood of her desk as she glared at Sofia. She started to feel stupid for punching Custis, as it had landed her in serious trouble with the old woman. She actually didn't mean to, it was when he hit her with the riding crop she remembered all the fights and the sting of a fist connecting with her body, causing her to lash out . She did mean what she said, if Custis or his brother tried that again she wasn't afraid to bust up more than their nose. She wasn't an animal; she was a woman with morals who only agreed with this so she could survive.

"You will pay for this Sofia. From now on you will not be allowed outside, you will not be able to share with Hannah anymore and the twins will be your only clients."

"What?!" All three of them yelled at the old woman, before glaring at each other. Ending the conversation at that, Madame Prudence waved all of them to get out of her face. Walking out, Hannah grabbed Sofia by the shoulder and hissed in her ear.

"What were you thinking?!" She growled, pushing Sofia into the bathroom and released her grip. Turning around, she crossed her bandaged arms across her chest and leaned against the broken wall.

"I didn't mean to punch him, I swear! He was hitting me with a riding crop and I just remembered the fighting ring and…. And I lashed out."

"Well you better not pull anymore of that, Madame was being fairly generous back there. She would have sacked you."

"I'd rather be sacked then spent another minute with those twins, who were they anyway?" Sofia spat, looking over at Hannah. Wringing her hands nervously, a gesture that was common among the courtesans, she took a deep breath.

"They're the Pendleton twins, lords of a very wealthy family. They're regulars here and from what Beatrice told me, they are sadistic bastards." She explained. Groaning to herself, Sofia turned and punched the wall as hard as she could, the tiles falling off the wall and smashing against the floor.

"Fuck."

**See you next chapter and don't forget to review.**


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